Ex-Pentagon procurement chief pleads guilty to conspiracy

A former Air Force procurement officer who later served as a top executive at Boeing pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to help the aviation company obtain a multibillion-dollar Pentagon contract, the Associated Press reported.

Darleen Druyun entered the plea in U.S. District Court to a single count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum five years in prison.

"I deeply regret my actions and I want to apologize,'' Druyun said.

Druyun and former Boeing chief financial officer Michael Sears were the subject of a federal grand jury investigation into the Air Force's plan to acquire 100 refueling tankers from the jet maker.

Boeing officials said Sears improperly contacted Druyun about a possible top-level post in 2002 when she still was at the Air Force and playing a key role in deciding whether the company should be awarded the tanker contract.